"Put the phone down. The ice cream''s here," Tegan announced, sliding the sundae across the table to Ste.


    It had been ages since Ste indulged in a scoop of ice cream. Ronald, ever the worrywart, would usually


    let her have just a couple of spoons before taking it away, fretting over her health.


    As she savored a spoonful, she asked, "So, what was Susie going on about earlier?"


    Tegan leaned in conspiratorially. "Oh, she said that L took off with all the money. The whole Larkin family is in aplete uproar."


    Ste nearly choked on her ice cream. "L ran off with the money? Are you serious?"


    "Absolutely," Tegan confirmed with a nod.


    Ste''s eyes widened in disbelief. "No way!"


    "She cleared out Jaxon''s ounts, and ise pulled the remaining funds out of thepany," Tegan continued, her voiceced with a mixture of disbelief and excitement.


    Ste was left speechless, spoon hovering mid-air.


    Tegan smirked. "Now, the Larkin family is left with a mess. One''s incapacitated, another''s constantly ill, and thest one can''t earn a dime. It''s like the sky is falling for them.''


    "I used to think I could squeeze a few million out of them, but now, it looks like there''s nothing left," Tegan sighed, her voice tinged with frustration. "I even went to the trouble of spinning a whole web around them."


    Ste shook her head, still processing the news. "Are they really that broke?"


    It was hard to believe. The Larkin family had always been one of the old-money families in Portis City. How could they suddenly not have a dime to their name?


    Tegan shrugged. "L''s a firecracker. She must''ve seen something she didn''t like and decided to bail, taking everything with her."


    Ste let out a low whistle. "That L, she''s something else. She married Jaxon with the intention of snagging a wealthy life, and when it didn''t pan out, she grabbed what she could and bolted."


    "Urs''s not going to survive this," Ste mused aloud.


    Tegan nodded in agreement. "Karma''s a real kicker."


    The two of them reminisced about Urs''s past arrogance. She''d almost caused Ste serious harm with her reckless antics.


    Tegan chuckled with satisfaction.


    "The Larkin family is the talk of


    Portis City now. You should''ve seen Cloudia strutting around like she owned the ce. Now, all those


    Ste just shook her head, a small smile ying on her lips. "Yeah, life sure has a way of turning the tables."


    After they finished eating, Ronald hadn''t called back yet, so Tegan suggested they hit the shops.


    Ste nced at her watch. It was getting close to eight.


    "Uriah letting you stay out thiste?" she asked with a teasing lilt.


    She knew how protective Uriah was of Tegan, always wanting her by his side, even trying to convince her


    to quit her hospital job just to be with him more.


    They''d been out for a couple of hours now, and normally Uriah would''ve called incessantly.


    Tegan''s expression turned a bit guarded. "The Horner family''s having a big dinner tonight."


    Ste''s eyebrows shot up. "Ah, I see."


    The Horner family was a


    wasn''t exactly their favorite, despite being practically raised by them


    after her father, the family''s


    chauffeur, died saving Uriah''s father.


    Ste reached over, giving Tegan aforting hug. "Are you okay?"


    Tegan shrugged it off. "I''m fine."


    But Ste could hear the undercurrent of hurt in her voice. "Since Uriah''s dad passed, Mrs. Horner doesn''t even bother pretending to like you anymore."


    Tegan shook her head. "I couldn''t care less. I owe them nothing."


    Ste nodded, understanding all too well. Tegan had always been a bit of an outsider in the Horner family, tolerated for Uriah''s sake but never truly embraced.


    Tegan had never been one to take things lying down, always meeting cold shoulders with her own brand of fierce independence.


    "Oh, by the way, I bought a house," Tegan said suddenly, shifting topics like flipping a switch.


    Ste blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? You and Uriah live together already. Why another ce?"


    The change in conversation left Ste momentarily off-bnce, but she quickly adjusted, curious about her new venture.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!